It is called micromanagement and it is the management of small details, often negligible, which results in a huge waste of time and a detrimental lack of balance in working relationships. On one side there is the boss who controls every move of his team and goes into details of every single action, on the other side, collaborators who complain about the continuous interference.

Certainly, this trend, which some of us may have experienced in working contexts, depends on the ability of the boss to delegate and communicate, as well as on the initiative of collaborators. But when it comes to micromanagement what is most relevant is the leader’s focus.

Let’s think about how our perspective changes when, thinking about it, we lower our gaze downwards, limiting ourselves to looking at our feet and when, instead, we raise our eyes upwards or look at the horizon: the level of details, the colors and the nuances to be observed multiply immediately.

A leader who exceeds in micromanagement is a defocused leader who loses himself in excessive control towards the lower levels, bypassing, in fact, the autonomous decision-making of his collaborators. Instead, it is expected from the leader that it is focused on strategic plans, on finding opportunities, on the evolution of its organization.

Insecurity on the part of those who manage, lack of trust towards employees, inability to clearly expose expectations: these are all good reasons to fall into the trap of micromanagement. Among these, there is also the need for certainties, the desire to remain in areas known to us, which we know well and within which we already know how to act.

What we often forget, however, is that the mania of control and the supervision of every single detail do not necessarily demonstrate our managerial skills and competencies.

The leader turns his gaze to the exploration of the new, the research, the strategic vision, in short, upwards instead of downwards. In this way, it assumes the freedom to move from managing to driving.

How many times do we take refuge in our comfort zone, perhaps even invading the space of others inappropriately? How many opportunities for personal (or professional) growth do we risk losing in this way? How much of our freedom do we give up?

Receiving gifts always gave me stress. As a child, I was afraid of not being able to express my happiness at best in receiving a gift that I liked very much, just as I was afraid of not being able to hide my deep disappointment in discarding a gift that I did not like at all.

Although with age I improved a bit, even today I realize that learning to recognize and manage emotions is all but easy, especially when facing surprises: either these make us beat the heart trope strong or these leave us terribly disappointed. Of course, the unexpected is part of life and in the workplace is part of the day. Facing and solving the unexpected is part of the game, but how do we deal with those of the last minute, those we did not expect, those that are communicated to us just before the deadline when the time to make a decision is tight?

Personally, I hate this kind of surprises. I try to control the anger of the moment, to breathe deeply, to “visualize a happy place” but the practice of positive inner dialogue does not help me much. I hate these unforeseen events, especially if they were kept hidden until the end, perhaps because of the fear of being negatively evaluated in asking for help or for personal pride.

If there is a difficulty or uncertainty, I would prefer that these are raised immediately, so that these can be considered and resolved in ideal times and ways. A healthy confrontation with our colleagues, in which all people involved ask questions in case of doubts or misunderstandings, does not exonerate us from the burden of managing our personal emotions, but it is nevertheless the best condition to share ideas and find possible solutions. After all, problems are not secret, instead, these are just questions to be solved.

At the first snowfall, I cannot wait. Boots, ski, seasonal ticket, and wake up early on the weekend does not bother me. Getting off the slopes when the snow is fresh regenerates me. Sometimes the intimacy of the descent is disturbed by the presence of many who, like me, have not resisted the call of the snow that day. And so, when the Baradello and the Palabione are taken by assault, I take refuge in the black track of Magnolta.

Certainly more demanding, but also more respectful of that particular silence broken only by my drawings on the snow. At times I stop, I look back and I am pleased to have drawn curves in a landscape so muffled, silent as if we accompanied each other with mutual respect.

Having reached the end, when jumping on the ski lifts, I reflect on the similarity between the skier fleeing from easy and overcrowded slopes to find inner calm and gratification in a more insidious track, and the attitude of the leaders, who right in the hardest moments, express their best qualities.

I think about the difference between exercising one’s leadership when everything goes well and works smoothly and, instead, doing it in moments of crisis or tension, remaining consistent and bringing out the best in oneself.

The most demanding situations skim the group and bring out the leader as a point of reference in the eyes of others. The obstacles, although not welcome, are the occasions when the leader makes the difference compared to the group, as well as a good skier distances the crowd in the difficult and most inaccessible sections of the track.

When we face a difficult circumstance, do we see it as a pitfall or as an opportunity to differentiate ourselves? What does it mean for us to make a difference?

There was once a boy. As soon as he came to the world, his mother decides to give him to adoption but at the last moment, the designated family prefers to adopt another baby in his place. He is adopted by another couple, the father is a mechanic, the mother is an accountant.

During his youth, he finds difficulty in socializing with kids of his age and sometimes he is suspended from school for behavioral problems. He enrolls at the College but leaves his studies before the end of the first year. In 1974 he was employed and in 1978 he had a daughter but he refused to recognize her. He was fired in 1985. Over the years he has made use of various drugs and in 2003 he discovered he was suffering from a rare form of malignant tumor.

His adoptive father has always felt he was extremely gifted. In 1986, when he acquired a movie production company, he recognized his first daughter. Between 1991 and 1998 he became father three more times. In 1997 he became CEO of the company from which he was fired. In 2007 he launched a new product that, in the first 200 days of sales, conquered 19% of the world market. In 2010, he launches another product that will revolutionize the management and display of paper content up to that point.

“The same boiling water that softens a potato, hardens an egg. It’s not about the circumstances you are living but rather what matters is what you’re made of “.

Facing adversity we can respond in different ways, we can harden or soften, or we can create something new and surprising. We can all encounter difficult moments in our lives. What do we want to do then? Do we give up or react looking ahead? How can we use learnings from our past and our mistakes to become better people?

On February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, Steve Jobs was born. Products launched by Apple during his mandate are known around the world. Pixar Animations’ innovation contributes to the fascination of the most popular animated movies we watch today.

Recently, in the subway, I could not help but hear a part of a conversation between two young women sitting next to me. As soon as I got down, thinking back to their words, and in particular to the situation told by one of them, I said to myself: “In the end, she just has to convince herself.”

The youngest was complaining to the friend of a negative evaluation received in the office. She seemed very disheartened and did not feel at all acknowledged for her efforts at work to be timely and precise, unlike other colleagues of her.

Without going into the merit of the evaluation received, the feeling of disappointment and anger expressed by this woman accompanies many other people who receive similar assessments in the office (and not only). Accepting positive evaluations of our professional performance is easy and exciting while receiving criticisms or ideas of improvement from others, it is not that easy. Often we are not prepared and we are overwhelmed with what we have been told by losing sight of the facts. It may happen that we focus only on what is not good, leaving out the simplicity of the choices that lead to the solution.

Let us, however, take the time to think calmly and impartially to the criticisms received and to establish personal, concrete and achievable improvement goals.

It is true that there are many aspects of our lives that we can not control but, on the other hand, we are the ones responsible for our actions. The more we work to improve ourselves, the more depends on us.

Let’s start by ourselves. In situations like these, it is a luxury not to have to convince anyone other than ourselves, which is much easier task than convincing others around us to change.

Surprisingly I thought about football, and more precisely about what Mr Mihajlovic said in a recent press conference that, considering my lack of interest in this sport, I would not have seen except for my husband’s passion for Torino FC: “The attitude that we have had does not depend on the opponent, it does not depend on the opponent if we play as a team, and it does not depend on the opponent if we chase every ball and it does not depend on the opponent if we sacrifice for the team, and it does not depend on the opponent if the team remains focused throughout the game, as it does not depend on the opponent if the team always plays to win without being satisfied”.

Regardless of the others and the final result, convincing ourselves means choosing to shift attention from the problem to the solutions. The solution is often in our freedom of choice. Let’s train us to realize it.

Although I know his style in the kitchen, Chef Gianfranco Semenzato always surprises me: this time with a “Risotto alla Milanese”. When I made my compliments for the great taste, he replied: “It’s all a matter of balance.”

His statement made me think about the importance of balance. Is it always so easy to find the right balance in carrying out our business or personal activities?

Transparency, equity, continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, innovation are among the most common values in the business environment. All organizations have values, whether they are aware of it or not, and the system of selected values characterizes the identity of an organization by strengthening the level of integration of the individuals that are part of it.

Discussing corporate values, however, I have not yet found balance in the value list. When we speak about balance in the company we are almost exclusively referring to the economic and financial management activities. Yet I am more and more convinced that balance, understood as dynamic balancing in which behaviors, choices, and positioning converge, should be the first absolute value.

Values are the ideals we believe in. On them, we base our behaviors and set our priorities. Values are the guiding principles of individual business choices and clear values allow individuals to position themselves in the best of their own, fully expanding their potential.

Why is equilibrium so important? Because as in a culinary recipe, it allows all ingredients to balance each other to create a harmony of tastes: in the business environment, therefore harmony of values and behaviors. When we are in equilibrium, we also have the option to choose, while in the polarization we find it easier to react. There is always a reaction in the poles. When I find the right measure, however, I can choose from different behavioral shades. Balance means the harmonious and conscious agreement between the parties.

What does my team need now?

How can I interact best with the team members?

What are the actions and roles I should expect from my team at this time?

These are just some of the questions that the good leader sets himself to constantly apply in the business practice the value of equilibrium, or at least, to strive for it.

As in a good and tasty meal, often the key to a company’s success, as well as a project within it, simply lies in the balance of ingredients and the care of creating a good match among these.

My first piggy bank was the plasticized miniature of a safe, with a stylized and rounded armored door. At the center, there were three cranks that had to be rotated to indicate the combination. Only then, turning the wheel, the three small bars would slide horizontally until it opened. On the back, the slot to insert the coins.

I was given as a present by my father, who repeated to me: “When you have few coins, drop these in the safe-box and you will have a good surprise in opening it one day”. I trusted him, I had the surprise, and not long ago I did the same gift to my children.

I find there is a strong similarity between the safe-box and people. After all, the two are not so different: it changes what lies inside, but the return, in proportion not always and necessarily linked to what has been stored, is assured. In our relationship with people close to us, instead of some coins, we “drop-in” precious knowledge, values and beliefs over a period of time that may vary depending on the kind of relationship that binds us and our mutual involvement.

People around us, in turn, being “people” and hence each one different from each other will show different degrees of reception and assimilation. They will then return to different ways and intensity, but this does not matter: if we are able to wait, they will return us something. We will always find part of what we have transferred if we invest energies in this process. The good thing is that, as well as the safe-box, opens only if we know the combination, people we have invested on will return to us what they have assimilated just if we know how to decipher their combination, putting them in the ideal conditions to express themselves freely.

So the question is: in our daily life do we seek different access keys or apply the same combination to all those around us? Do we transfer content in the same way or customize our communication to those around us? How are we willing to get in touch with each other?

We are all different individuals and if we want to receive from others the “surprise” that was discussed at the beginning, we must be able to decipher different combinations.